


You and I (is there something more?)

by versti_fantur



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, let them be friends first okay, soft words and soft musings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25318699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/versti_fantur/pseuds/versti_fantur
Summary: Robbie has trouble sleeping, and all Sportacus wants to do is help (they care for each other, really)
Relationships: Robbie Rotten/Sportacus
Comments: 13
Kudos: 69





	You and I (is there something more?)

**Author's Note:**

> hey i'm soft and gay so i wrote something equally soft and gay i hope you enjoy <3

The air was crisp and cool as Sportacus jumped down from his airship for his morning jog, the sky cloudless and pale blue as the sun rose in the distance. His breath formed clouds in front of him, drawing a smile to his lips—he always found enjoyment in the simple things, and the chill half-reminded him of home.

The kids wouldn’t be awake for a while yet, and Robbie- well, the only chance he’d see Robbie before noon was if he hadn’t slept at all, and whilst he enjoyed spending time with him, Robbie’s health was always more important. Not that he got to spend much time with Robbie at all; only during (and occasionally after) one of his schemes to make Sportacus leave town did they ever talk. Their longest conversation was probably when Robbie had erased Sportacus’ memory temporarily. He shuddered, hating to remember how it had felt to know absolutely nothing about himself, even though he’d got his memory back, and Robbie had sincerely apologised for it.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he continued with his jog, the sound of his boots against the pavement loud in the quiet stillness of the suburbs. Near the end of the road, a large apple tree stood tall, and Sportacus sped up, running up the trunk and back flipping back down as an apple fell into his outstretched hands. The skin was shiny and red, smooth against his calloused palms, and he smiled as he bit down. He sat down on a nearby wall as he ate, licking a stray droplet of juice from his lip as he stared off into the distance, where flat plains grew into the mountains surrounding the town, their impossibly tall peaks dusted with snow even in the summer. Someday, he wanted to climb them, like he used to back home with his siblings. But ensuring the residents of Lazytown would stay safe for a whole day without him? It would be laughable if it didn’t alarm him so much. He wasn’t quite sure how they’d survived before he’d arrived, not with the amount of trouble they got themselves into on a daily basis. 

Finishing his apple, he tossed it into a nearby trash can, jumping to his feet again and sprinting back towards the town centre. As he vaulted over a wall though, a movement behind the town hall caught his eye, distracting him enough that he almost tripped as he landed. Curiosity got the better of him though, and he jogged over as quietly as he could—elves could move fairly silently when they wanted to—and peered around the side of the building.

Most of the space behind the town hall was filled with trees, the mayor having planted a small orchard there as a child, and as such the trees created a canopy, offering shade from the sun during the day, and a cool shelter at night. Usually unless the kids were playing there or picking the fruit, it remained empty, the adults of the town too busy with their jobs to care about a tiny municipal garden, but now, even in the dim light that managed to filter its way through the leaves, Sportacus could see someone huddled against a tree trunk, swathed in a deep purple blanket and reading a book. Their face wasn’t visible, but the large pale hands slowly turning the pages seemed familiar, and Sportacus decided to investigate further. Slowing to a walk, he made his way through the trees, the grass damp beneath his boots.

“Hey,” he said softly, and the person flinched, dropping the book into their lap, and Sportacus found himself looking into an even more familiar pair of cloudy grey eyes. “Robbie!” He smiled, as Robbie looked up at him warily, pulling the blanket tighter around himself like a shield.

“What do you want, Sportaflop?” His voice was rough, as though he hadn’t slept (which he probably hadn’t, to be fair). Sportacus winced a little at the insult, but it didn’t hold any of the malice it usually did, if anything, it was nothing more than an empty name. As Sportacus stepped closer, he could see the heavy purple bags under Robbie’s eyes.

“Can I sit with you?” he asked tentatively, a soft smile on his lips. Robbie’s hands shook a little, and he grabbed the book to steady them. Sportacus noticed anyway.

“If you have to.” Robbie answered after a moment, his words short and snappy, but Sportacus beamed, sliding down the tree trunk to sit beside him. Robbie shuffled a little further away, a subtle, barely perceptible shift, and Sportacus almost wished he hadn’t noticed. He should be happy Robbie was allowing him to be even _this_ close, he knew how protective he usually was about his personal space. They sat in silence, Robbie leafing through his book again (something to do with engineering, based on the title, if Sportacus’ understanding was correct), and Sportacus staring up at the trees; how the leaves danced and fell in the light morning breeze, and the fruit bobbing up and down with the movement of the branches. It was calm, peaceful. Pleasant.

“What are you doing up so early?” he dared to ask after a while, and Robbie startled again, seemingly having forgotten Sportacus was there.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Sportacus’ heart sank, he knew of Robbie’s struggles with insomnia, his crystal went off often enough, but there wasn’t anything he could do to help, not like with the kids, where he could do a cool stunt and stop them careering into a wall. No, insomnia was different, possibly even worse, and his training had never told him how to deal with it.

“For how long?” 

“Three days.”

Sportacus’ words caught in his throat, and he turned towards Robbie, his brow creased with concern. Robbie’s eyes met his, and from this close he could see the shadows beneath them were worse than he’d thought, almost as dark as the eyeshadow he usually wore. His face was devoid of makeup, and even his usually neatly combed hair was slowly falling out of its pompadour, wavy and dark against his pale forehead. Sportacus bit his lip, still unsure of what to say, and instead reached out, gently taking one of Robbie’s hands into his own. He felt him stiffen at the contact, his eyes widening in shock at Sportacus’ unexpected gesture, but as Sportacus began rubbing slow circled into his skin, the tension seemed to leave him, and he slouched back down again. Sportacus could’ve sworn he even felt Robbie gently squeeze his hand back.

Minutes passed, and they sat in silence still, but it wasn’t awkward. At some point, Robbie shifted a little closer, his blanket ‘accidentally’ falling over Sportacus’ legs, and though he was grateful for the warmth, the fact Robbie was trusting him more, allowing him closer, was even better. The sun rose higher, and they still held hands. 

The sound of one of the kids yelling Sportacus’ name broke them both from their reverie, the panic flooding back into Robbie’s tired eyes. Shaking his head, Sportacus squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, you should go back home, try and get some sleep.” Robbie nodded, leaning on Sportacus a little as they both stood up. He tucked the book under his arm as Sportacus passed him the blanket, and as they let go of each other’s hands, Sportacus couldn’t help but mourn the loss of contact. 

“I’ll see you around Sportacus,” Robbie said as he turned around to leave, back in the direction of the billboard, and Sportacus smiled wide, his heart doing a little flip. _Robbie had used his real name!_

“Bye Robbie.” As he ran back to the town square, where the kids had started to gather, warmth flooded through his chest. Maybe they could be friends after all. Maybe even more.

**Author's Note:**

> comments/kudos are wonderful, i hope you all have a wonderful day <3


End file.
